Familiar Face
by DreamMasquerade
Summary: There is a girl... a girl with Sera's black hair and dark blue eyes. Her name is Iris, and when she was four, she was best friends with Ethan, Matt, and Dillion.Now she finds herself caught up in a phrophecy and wondering about things not to be thought of
1. Prologue

"Hey, loser! Betcha can't catch me!" one youth taunts, his eyes dancing, the basketball bouncing a drum's rhythm against the pavement.

The boy's sister, a striking young girl with curly black hair and vivid blue eyes curls her lip defiantly, and lunges at her brother.

He turns swiftly makes a shot at the goal hoop. _Swish!_ The young girl is still running, and she accidentally catapults into her brother, sending the two children falling onto a dew-encrusted lawn.

They roll on the ground, each trying to hold the other down long enough to claim victory. The boy roars in triumph as he flips his sister over and grabs her shoulders, holding her down into the moist ground, her black hair splayed out behind her head. But he forgets to be wary of his sister, who is more muscle than he is, despite them being of same age, and she knees him in the stomach just hard enough to throw him toppling onto the grass as she casually rests a foot on his neck.

"Hang on, you can't win! I'm the boy, and daddy says that boys are more stronger than girls," the boy pouts, his blue eyes widening in false innocence.

"Maybe so, but he also says that girls are cleverer," his sister gloats, her tongue fumbling over the word 'cleverer'. "You can't talk your way out of this one, Chris!"

"Shh!" The boy, Chris, whispers, eyes stretching wide, putting a tiny finger to his lips. "listen!"

The growling of pavement and crunch of gravel meets the girl's ears and she laughs critically. "That's just Daddy, silly!"

"But he's home early," Chris sounds worried, and this startles his sister into searching the long driveway for signs of her father's familiar BMW.

"There he-" she begins but breaks off abruptly as she sees her father's car hurtling towards them at a breakneck pace, and several black Cadillacs follow. The girl screams and in her shock she trips over her brother's neck and falls onto hard pavement, right in the path of the BMW, which skids to a halt right at her head.

The door to the car opens and a tall man dressed in a semi-formal suit jumps out and runs to his daughter, grabbing her and embracing her.

"Don't do that ever again! Chris, where are you?" as his son runs up, squealing in delight at the sight of their father, the man drags him into an arm too and begins to run into the house.

"Ow! Daddy! Put me down, Daddy, I can walk for myself!" the little girl protests, thumping her little fists on her father's strong arms. Bullets fire and the children scream in unison as their father ducks his head, running through their giant house.

Another bang, this time louder, makes the children's father shout in pain and fall to the floor, the children scrambling out of his arms hastily. Chris pulls a flaming arrow from his father's back and frowns, puzzled.

"Run," the man grunts to his children, fighting for breath but losing life quickly.

"Daddy, I don't like this!" the little girl complains, tugging on her father's hand and sticking out her bottom jaw. "Make it stop!"

"My little Irie," the father manages to laugh shakily and ruffles his daughter's black hair affectionately. "Don't worry about me, but you need to run!" a sudden rushing of wind has the jumpy children screaming again, as a thunderously tall woman with ankle-length scarlet hair and flaming silver eyes appears out of nowhere before them.

"Lathenia!" the man spits from his vulnerable position on the ground at the woman's feet.

"Michael!" Lathenia hisses, and the children both shiver, terrified. "Tonight this ends, and my revenge shall be complete!" And with those words said, she draws a sword from her cloak and stabs the man in the heart, causing the children to scream once more.

"I don't like it, daddy!" Irie wails again, tears flowing from her cheeks. Chris merely stares at his father's corpse in shock, remembering that if he and his sister had decided to stay at their friend's house earlier, they wouldn't be here right now.

Lathenia turns her scorching silver glare on the two innocent children, who both flinch and tremble violently, wondering what would happen to them now.

"Well, well, Chris… Iris!" Lathenia says smoothly. "It is time for you to choose your destiny. I will be waiting for you!" she turns her gaze onto Irie only with an expectant gleam in her eye, and continues staring at the little girl as the woman disappears.

The children are alone.

_The time has come_, an eerie voice comes from inside the children's minds and they turn around, looking for the source of the words. _A new prophecy has arisen._ The voice chants, and Irie daringly calls for the voice to show itself.

Chris's eyes narrow in dismay. "I don't like this! I want daddy to wake up and make everything better again!"

"Shhh! The voice is back!" Irie snaps.

_Speak the name in your heart to choose your destiny._

"What does that mean?" Irie asks.

"There has been a name I've been longing to say for quite a while…" the boy shivers. "But it's a wretched name!"

"Me too!" His sister says, eagerly nodding. "what's the name you've been thinking of!"

"You first," the boy says shyly.

"no!" Irie snorts.

"You!"

"You're older!"

"Yeah, by, like, one minute!" the boy rolls his eyes, appearing to forget about the horror of hearing men banging on their front door, earnest to get in. "okay, we'll say in on three!"

"One," Irie mutters.

"Two," Chris's eyes suddenly gleam.

"Three!" they both chant.

"Arkarian!" Irie squeals happily, as her brother yells a different name.

"Lathenia," the boy says, looking startled to have whispered the name aloud. Instantly, the children begin to glow, and they shriek as they start to fade, grabbing at each other's hands, but Irie finds she can't connect her hand with her brother's, and Chris's eyes look frantic.

"Don't go!" they both yell, before both of them disappear.

_A new prophecy has begun._


	2. Chapter One

**Chapter one**

**Ethan**

I'm having another attack. Dad took one look at me this morning and knew. He put his arm around me and to told me to wade it out- to move on- but that's exactly what I don't want to do. I don't want to forget the dazzling green eyes or the flawless skin. Memories are all I have with me; memories of what we could have… what we should have…. Memories of… us?

There's a meeting today but I don't want to go. I want to be here alone with myself instead.

Unfortunately, it seems being alone today will be a difficult task, for a knock at the door seizes my attention. Isabel enters, smiling nervously and shutting the door quietly behind her. When'd she get here?

"Hey," she says softly. My reply comes as a rattling sigh. "your dad called me- Matt has cancelled the meeting."

"Why?" just a short, simple question, but it's a start. Last time I thought about her, I didn't speak for a week.

"Because, Ethan, you complete us," Isabel explains patiently, looking slightly relieved. "We can't do anything without you. And you're our best friend, we'll always look out for you. And I'm telling you, as a friend, that you shouldn't sit and mope all day. Get up and go punch something, or at least tell me about it. Keeping everything bottled up won't help." She puts a hand on my shoulder and my nerves are instantly soothed.

Isabel's power is healing, and she's beginning to learn how to heal emotional problems as well as physical, which is very helpful at times. Right now I'm feeling sore all over, and I'm in desperate need of comfort.

"Remember," I begin softly, my eyes glued to my socks. "when somebody mentioned the traitor at a meeting? Isabel, I… I unconsciously looked at Ro… why'd this have to happen, Isabel? Why her- she lived such a hard life, and she didn't hardly get any joy out of it. I made sure of that," I silently curse myself.

"We did always give her a rough time, even though she tried so hard to prove she could be trusted," Isabel agreed, sighing and slouching against the wall.

"I was there when she died," I remind her quietly.

"What happened back there?"

"I… I told her that I didn't care what her hands were like. I said I'd always loved her, even though I didn't admit it, even to myself." Tears begin leaking down my face and I begin to feel embarrassed. Isabel appears not to care, however, and she wraps her arms around my head and we rock slowly back in forth, me feeling slightly like a child in his mother's arms. We sit there for a long time, crying silently, about what we had, what we lost, what we were.

**A/N it's short, I just wanted you to get a picture of how Ethan is feeling at the moment. Some stories say he get's over his grief and some say he committed suicide. In this he's usually normal (with a little edge) but occationally becomes depressed.**


	3. Chapter Two

**Chapter 2**

**Iris**

Last winter, school was really wack. We were struck by a meteor shower, attacked by an army of giant rats with vicious fangs, and to top it off, a swarm of birds with human eyes soared over Angel Falls. Lots of people have moved away, afraid of other cryptic events occurring. Now, five months later, people are still missing and tensions are sky high.

Graduation's approaching and I couldn't be more relieved to leave my depressing and lonely high school behind. I've found a great college to go to next year (nice and spacey- gotta have my elbow room, y'know!) and a cool seniors quote (live the present knowing that it's now the past) and I am allowed to leave the orphanage I live at as soon as I turn eighteen.

But today, I have to go to school with everyone else (the freshmen are so tiny and adorable!) and go through all of my classes normally. Speaking of classes, where has my history teacher, Mr Carter, disappeared to? My ex-best friend Ethan Robert's is said to have hated that man with a passion, and I have to say Mr Carter talks a little bit too much. Like he wants to know everything about you.

Anyway, my day has been pretty normal- quiet, lonely, typical. It's almost time to go home and I'm stalling by the water fountain, tying and retying my shoe to keep the teachers off of my back.

I feel something burning into my skin and I glance up. It's Matt Becket- go figure, the jerk! But what does he want, and why is he staring at me? As far as I know, he hasn't looked at me with any recognition since we were in kindergarten! I stare back into his eyes and have a sudden claustrophobic feel that something is probing me. In the attempt to stand up suddenly, I trip over my clumsily knotted shoe laces and find myself crashing into the water founting. Embarassingly, this creates screams of alarm and three hundred pairs of eyes focused on me.

I suddenly feel shaky and I shut my eyes, turning off all of my thoughts instantly. Eventually, the probing feeling vanishes, and I warily open my eyes again. People are all over me, asking me if I'm okay, and my face turns red hot at the attention. How many of these people know my name? That's an easy one: none.

"N-no, I'm fine," I mumble, searching for my things, which flew from my arms when I hit the fountain. Somebody hands me my notebook, and I receive another shock when I glance up to thank the person. It's Ethan Roberts! I seem to be seeing all of my old friends from when I was a little girl a lot today- talk about a blast from the past.

"Thanks, Ethan," I say, boring my eyes into his. For a second, I think I see recognition in their blue depths.

"You're welcome, er…" he hesitates, leaving out the part where he should include my name. For some reason this makes my blood boil. The senseless moron can't even remember my name! What a rude, arrogant, forgetful, tactless boy! We were best friends when I was five, but then my brother and dad died and I was missing from school for a year. When I got back, Dillion, Matt, and Ethan didn't speak to me.

I glare at Ethan for a split second longer than necessary before grabbing the rest of my things and shouldering past him, causing him to tumble onto the floor. I storm to my next class and don't look back.

**xXXx**

My anger drains in Math as my mind drifts to the strange aura of power I felt when Matt stared at me. It had felt as if he had been inside my head, checking my thoughts out. But that's absurd! Right? A sudden split image of a tall woman with long, scarlet hair comes to mind and I flinch. Where did that come from?

"I'm imagining things," I mutter. "Matt just thought I was a newbie, he used to always try and make friends with the new kids- the suck up!" I triy to keep the curiosity out of my mind, but it's drilling into me like a... well, drill. With the drilling comes more irritation. My old friends obviously forgot I existed, which shows plainly they were pity friends. In college, the first thing on my list is to forget about them and find real friends.

In this instant I make a solemn vow to myself: from now on, I will have nothing to do with any of them.


	4. Chapter Three

**Chapter 3**

**Ethan**

I can't stop thinking of the girl that Matt was sizing up- I know I should recognize her. Isabel won't stop ragging on Matt for digging into her mind so roughly in public and so it's with a laughing fit that she accompanies me out of the school grounds. About the girl, Iris, I feel like I should recognize her (and she obviously thinks so too by her flash of evil temper) so I need to ask Arkarian who who who she is. I only found out her name five minutes ago.

There's a meeting after school today. Isabel and I are already on our way to see Arkarian. I just can't wait for the rest of the school day to be over before finding out the answers to my curiosity and Isabel is coming because… well, I was going already and… she's Isabel. Enough said.

So, we make it to Arkarian's, and once Isabel's finished (aww, they make a cute couple…. Aww… uhh… eww… no-nonononoNONO!!!) I force forward my questions.

"Hey, Arkarian, Matt was invading a poor innocent girl's brain and she freaked out. Uh… who is she?" I ask, the red hopefully fading from my face.

"Iris will be involved in the meeting, Ethan. She is very important, but I don't want to explain without Matt here," Arkarian says in a tone that makes me think that this Iris girl is more than just 'important'. "What do you remember about her, Ethan?"

"Huh?" I ask. "Arkarian, please, before today, I didn't even know the girl existed!" His wry smile was irritating the hell out of me and I seethed.

"You probably don't remember, but you and Iris were best friends about eleven or twelve years ago," Arkarian explains calmly, a hand resting on Isabel's shoulder comfortably. His words shake me- I don't remember a friend named Iris. I'll ask my mom when I get home tonight, or maybe Dad when he gets to the meeting.

"Matt will remember her," Isabel assures me confidently. "He remembers everything."

I recall being in Atlantis the day it sunk… Matt was the only one who remembered the way to the building. I haven't been on a mission in a month, the order is really settling down at last. Actually, I think I was even the last one to have had a mission at all (along with Arkarian).

"I thought she seemed familiar…" I lied. Unfortunately, I had left the silence for too long and Arkarian was staring at Isabel transfixed. I would have been much more impatient if I hadn't remembered that Isabel had been on vacation for a week and this was like a reunion. The first week after Rochelle died was torturous for me.

"Oh… well, Iris does look very similar to your-"

"Arkarian!" oh, crap, it's Dad! "you've got to try these muffins, they are fantastic. Better than fantastic, even, I'd say!" As Dad strides into the room, his face falls. "Er, what are you two doing here?" He demands of me and Isabel. An awkward silence breaks out, because even though my dad is a part of the Guardians of Time, he is still my dad- just like I AM playing hooky from school….

"So…" Isabel breaks the silence. "How good are those muffins?"

Dad shoots me a when-we-get-home-you're-dead look, but hands Arkarian a fluffy muffin. Actually, I really can't call it a fluffy muffin, because it's a crumbly mess.

"Banana Nut Muffin, mixed with a cinnamon-sugar topping and baked to perfection" Dad proudly announces, and Arkarian looks at the food with curiosity before carefully taking a bite.

I swear, even Isabel wouldn't be able to melt him like this. It's like hes seeing the gods unite or something. His face is serene and at perfect bliss, his eyes dreamy. A very bizarre sight, if I do say so myself.

"Shaun," he whispers after swallowing. "This is the best muffin on Earth in this time, the past, and even the future, no doubt!"

Isabel reaches forward with a tentative hand to try the sugary food, but Arkarian pulls it a way quickly and shoves it into his mout. I burst out laughing as Arkarian starts to search his fingers for any remains left on his sticky fingers.

"What's so funny?" Ahh, school must be out- Matt's here with Dillon. Neriah has to walk, because Matt hasn't given her her wings yet and he's too impatient to walk all that way with her.

"Oh," Dad chuckles. "It's hilarious to watch Arkarian act out of character. I remember this one time, he…"

But whatever Arkarian had done would have to owait for a nother time, because Jimmy and Neriah arrive.

Matt gives Neriah a kiss on the forehead before addressing the meeting.

"Something… unusual has happened. It would seem my father, along with Lorian, have gonenuts!" he begins, his eyes shut wearily.

Isabel and I laugh- if Arkarian was leading this meeting, he would have said something like, "Dartimus and Lorian have been plotting an interesting crucial new development."

Mat and Arkarian have heard our careless thoughts; Matt looks amused while Arkarian looks faintly worried as if wondering if he's really that boring.

"Er, anyways," Matt says, regaining his composure queicly. "Two of the people in the God's world has been sent to reside in somebody's body." He breaks off, looking confused. "Only we have to get back to that later. About twelve years ago, two siblings said two different names. Chris called out Lathenia's name, and so he was taken to the Goddess herself and is still there, plotting to overcome us. That's what we think, at least. And little Iris said Arkarian's name. We thought, her father being an important member of the Guard, that she merely overheard him saying Arkarian's name, but when she was transported to Arkarian's chambers and explained her story, Arkarian erased her memories and sent her back to our school about a year later. He didn't know that this was the beginning of a new prophecy." Matt starts off, speaking as clearly as if he were there twelve years ago. Man, that was when I was five years old.

"What prophecy?" Isabel interjects quickly. "Read it to us. Why haven't you mentioned it earlier?"

"We only found it yesterday," Arkarian murmurs, putting a hand on her shoulder. "When the girl named Iris called to me that one day a while back and appeared before me, I didn't know that she was a part of this prophecy, or I would not have erased her memories, but have trained her with Ethan."

Matt pulls a slip of paper from his back pocket and held out. "I don't want to read the prophecy to you guys, but I'll pass it around and everybody can read it for themselves." He passes the paper to his left. Oh great, I'm sitting next to him on the right!

Neriah reads it and frowns, passing it on to Dillon, who probably still hasn't gotten over her, it's hard to tell. He doesn't really talk to me much anymore. He didn't usually hang out with our group at school, so we haven't gotten a chance to speak much.

"But I don't-" he begins.

"Shh, I haven't read it yet!" Isabel hisses from her place next to me.

After Jimmy passes it to Dad, he lets out a sigh. Dad "hmm"s, but otherwise does nothing.

Arkarian's already read it and Isabel reads quickly, so it's soon my turn to read.

_At the hour of three_

_The truth in numbers will see_

_From eighteen to twenty_

_Named and Crescened unite_

_To fight the threat_

_But find despair in betrayal_

_Keep hope for while immortal_

_Two siblings have two lives_

_And remember that in numbers is the way to win_

_When all is done_

_There will be only one_

_And the stars will fall._

"it doesn't rhyme," is all I can say as I pass the note back to Matt.

"Really!" Isabel exclaims mockingly. "Did you expect the prophecy to be originated in English?"

"What does it mean, there will be only one?" Dillon asks.

"And what's the deal with… who's the Crescened?" Jummy wonders.

"You don't know about the Crescened?" Dillon asks quickly.

"They-" Arkarian begins, but Dillon is fast to spill what he knows.

"They are a group in the order who are kind of like the Named, you know, a special group within Lathenia's inner circle. I guess she liked the way the Guard worked and she created a similar system in the Order." He gushes, before looking down quickly. "I was a member of the Crescened, but I didn't like it much."

"And the two immortals with two lives," I say with a glance at Matt. "Im guessing one of them is Iris?"

"We had no direction pointing to who the prophecy meant, but I remember how Iris was absent from school for a while, and her brother, Chris, hasn't been seen since. It just fits!" Matt shrugs.

"Oh, you mean Iris Thomson?" Dillon asks loudly. "Huh, I never thought she was the same Iris as little Irie." Frustration is bubbling inside me now.

"Wait a moment- why is it both of you remember Iris and I don't?" I seethe.

"Ethan, you have to remember that you were five years old, and your sister had just been murdered before a black iris. When you saw Irie the next day, her haunting recognition, due to the fact she looked like a little version of your sister, made you dread seeing her and relive the memory. When she left, a great weight had been lifted from your chest, and you forgot about her almost instantly." Jimmy remarks.

"Oh," I mutter. "Okay, so Iris and her brother are Immortals, probably those random ones that just pop up every thousand years or so, and so what does it mean they have two lives?"

"I have no idea," Arkarian confesses.

Uproar and commotion overpowers the room as everybody begins talking at once. Dad's voice is the loudest.

"This will all be explained in time- settle down!"

"In the meantime," Matt says, evidently relieved at the regained calm in the room. "We should begin to train Iris and return to her her memories. Ethan, you'll train her, okay?" I blink, pleased at the prospect of training another apprentice.

"Isabel," Matt continues. "This was meant to be your first apprentice, but we need somebody with experience as a mentor to teach Iris, she's just too important." Isabel sighs but nods.

"As long as I get the next one," she allows grudgingly. Her calm reaction surprises me, ad I look up. When I first met her, nearly two yhears ago, she would have punched me in the arm and thrown a fit.

"Well," Jimmy says finally, "Matt, Isabel, and I must be off. You two's mother is making lasagna and it looks delicious."

"That sounds good," Dillon fawns, ready to start drooling.

"Save me some. It's been a while since I've eaten lasagna," Arkarian pleads.

"Good, I have an idea," Matt says and disappears. After a few moments he returns and mutters something excitedly to his sister. They turn to Arkarian, Isabel looking like one of those happily evil blondes from the movies. "Mom says she expects you to come over for dinner, Arkarian," she says happily, taking a few steps forward.

"Yeah, she says she cooked too much lasagna and she wants everybody to come over- including," Matt grins maliciously. "Isabel's new boyfriend."

"Matt," Arkarian growls. "You of all people should know how dangerous it would be for me to be out in public."

"Well, I've actually got you a present…" Isabel contradicts him, pulling a brown matt of hair from her backpack.

"No," Arkarian says seriously, backing off.

"Mom's expecting you, though!" she persists.

"Yeah," Neriah pipes up. "Just be yourself and Mum will love you!" She had taken to calling Matt's mom 'mum' a little while after starting to live with them, seeing as her mom was hidden away in Norway.

"But I- my eyes!" Arkarian protests feebly.

"There is such a thing as normal people having violet eyes, Arkarian," I say, smirking. Arkarian shoots me a glare and I grin. Tonight will be fun.


	5. Chapter Four

**Chapter 4**

**Iris**

"Hey!" a hand reaches out and grabs my shoulder. Note to the wise, when people grab me, kick me, or in other any way touch me, I-

"Oof!" I gasp as a manage to try to stop and keep walking at the same time, resulting in my predictable crashing to the floor. Luckily I manage to keep a strangling hold on my books, so it's not a complete disaster.

I roll over, completely ready to shake off a persistent Kole Gates who has made it a habit to follow me around the school grounds and beg me to help him study. I want to help, but, God, he's so annoying. Therefore, I'm thoroughly surprised that Kole has turned magically into Ethan.

After gathering myself and getting to my feet I turn to him, hoping that my face is the mask of irritation I want it to be. "Yeah? What?"

He looks surprised at my tone and I regret it- but only a little. "Iris," he pants, obviously he had run to catch me. I feel a flash of irritation and flattery- Ethan had obviously looked up my name somewhere. "Do you remember me?"

Oho, what a question.

"Do you remember me?" I snarl, my teeth gritted, trying not to let my hurt overflow in my eyes. I turn away and take off in a fast run to the school gates. How dare he? I have just gotten over him refusing to be my friend and not remembering me. I have a perfect future- how dare he waltz in just before the relief and taunt me?

The gates in front of me swing shut and the automatic lock clicks into place. I shake the gates uselessly and whirl around to face him. He's right behind me.

"Please-" he starts.

"What? Forgive you for forgetting I existed?" I defend myself hotly, tears beginning to gather in my eyes and my lips beginning to burn- an effect of getting too angry. I lean forward, my face now inches from his. "Never!"

I shove him roughly aside and head back to the school to get the keys to the gate so that I can get out of the school. I'm not entirely sure where this rage is coming from, but it's exploding from me like a volcano.

However, it's not enough to quench a sudden nagging uncertainty. It's a hot summers day- how had the gate suddenly swung shut like that? It made no sense at all. Unconsciously I turn and head back to Ethan.

His dark blue eyes widen in surprise to see me pacing back to him, a grim determination set on my face. "What did you do?" I ask, grabbing his shirt front.

"What?" he asked, a whirlwind of emotions flashing through his eyes.

"Why is the gate closed? How did you close them- it's way too convenient that the wind should blow them closed if there is no wind!"

"Have you heard of Arkarian?" Ethan asks after a pause.

"Yeah, of course," I answer, puzzled that such a random question would appear. Ethan looks relieved that the dagger-sharp edge in my voice has disappeared.

"Who is he?" This takes me off guard. Not because of the simplicity of the question, but of the fact that… I don't know the answer.

"Look, are you going to answer my question or not?" I snap, my gaze flickering to the gate that is still shut.

"I'm getting to that part," irritation. Good, a reaction that is something less than this infuriating circle talk. Let's hope he gets to the point soon. "You don't remember Arkarian. Would you like me to take you to him?"

"No." my curt reply startles him. "I want you to let me go home," this isn't what he thought I would say, no doubt.

Good God.

"Well, he wants to meet you. To see you, I mean, and reveal some other old friends. What about Chris, do you remember him?" Ethan's voice is laced with bitterness.

This stung- I remember Chris perfectly and I clench my eyes shut against the little boy voice that is talking to me at a different time through my mind.

"You remember then?" but in my mind Ethan was saying other things, things like: "I've never met you in my life," "I don't hang out with girls," and, on a happier note, "Iris, don't change," and I sink to my knees, holding my head.

"Iris?" Ethan asks, but his voice is distant among all the voices in my head.

"Shut up!" I yell and the voices cease. I glare up at Ethan through my fingers. "Let me out!"

He doesn't hear the muttered words and cups a hand around his ear. I bolt to my feet.

"Let me out, let me out! Let me out, dammit!" I shout at him and reveal my biggest secret.

I plant my feet firmly on the ground and throw my hands his way. A gust of wind suddenly buffets him, knocking him back ten feet. I know that what I can do with wind isn't natural, and this is the first time I've ever used my secret power in public.

Because what Ethan says is scaring me, I don't want to think about the past. So to get away from it, I turn away from where he lays dazed and thrust a ball of wind at the ground, shooting me over the fence and taking off at a sprint.

I run blindly, not really knowing where I'm going. I just want to get home. Who cares who Arkarian is- who cares about my dead brother? But then Ethan is right in front of me, materializing out of thin air and I know I'm in trouble.

A million thoughts run through my head. Ethan has paranormal powers, too? For how long, and how many? Would he use them to fight me?

I trip over my feet as my thoughts fumble through my head and Ethan catches me just before I hit the ground. "Let me go!" I gasp, trying to break free of his vice-like grip on my wrists.

"Iris, how long have you known about your power?"

"What's it to you?" I dodge, trying to kick his shins.

"I want to take you to Arkarian so that you can find out what really happened the year you were absent from school!"

And now he has my complete and utter attention.

**A/N ehh, I really needed her to find out about the named when it wasn't her POV so I have to end the chapter here. Sorry, guys!**


	6. Chapter Five

**Chapter 5**

**Ethan**

I figure I'll show Iris the cottage ruins up in the mountain. That's what I did for Isabel, and she handled it well enough. I glance over my shoulder to make sure that my supposedly ex best friend is following. That certainly takes me off guard- she is right behind me, with a determined and quite possibly furious expression lining her pretty face.

"I'm coming!" she insists irritably. I choose to ignore the bitter attitude in her voice and pick up the pace a bit. "Look," she says from behind me. "Since you know about my… powers, can I _please_ show you a faster way to get around?" I smirk, even though she appears to now hate my guts, she's still desperately curious.

"Go ahead. Can I, er, steer, though?"

Iris doesn't respond but grabs my shoulder with a nonchalant expression on her face and shoots forward. My stomach leaves me as we hurtle through the trees at an alarming pace. I've never gone this fast in my life, and I'm not quite over the instinctive nauseous feeling yet.

"Where are we going?" Iris yells over the wind. I look around and begin to laugh.

"I believe we just passed it!" I shout back. Iris curses and drops me to the ground, knocking the breath out of me.

"Where?" she pants, already striding back the way we came. I look around to try to analyze where we are and laugh again. "What?" she asks, exasperated, whipping around with an incredulous look on her face.

"Um, actually, this is precisely where I was heading," I explain, and laugh again at the incredulous look on her face.

"Here?" she groans. "There is nothing here!"

"Well, actually," I begin, leading her to the bush that hides the cottage. "it's through here, see?"

Iris begins to look a little bit ticked off as she scans the bushes. "Look, Ethan," she begins snappishly. I suddenly realize how much she looks like an older version of Sera, my little sister who was killed when she was ten. "I'm giving you five minutes to get my attention or I swear I will leave you up here by yourself!" Despite her brave words, there's nervous terror in her eyes as she thinks I've successfully lured her up the mountain to murder her or something.

I've got to work fast.

**X-Xx-x-XX-x**

Of course, once I get going, using the same technique I used on Isabel, Iris becomes entranced. Five minutes stretches into twenty as I explain all sorts of things in the Guard. By the time I've finished all I think is necessary for her to know at this point, her eyes are have lost their scared glint.

"This sounds a bit hokey, still," she warns. "There are some flaws to your... theory."

"Oh yeah?" I ask lightly, amused by her reluctant eager curiosity.

"If Lathenia is really dead, why should I have to join you... people," there was a strain in her voice. "I mean, I'm about to go to college, and I can't stay here for more than a couple of weeks unless there's a desperate need for me to stay."

"Oh, right, of course. There's a new prophecy," I explain. "I'll show you it later if you join ranks with us. It is very confusing- not even Arkarian can figure it out."

"And Arkarian is the blue one who can read minds," Iris vaguely remembers. I laugh, trying to imagine Arkarian with blue skin. My laughter has her face scrunching up into a grimace, and I try to remember that she's still a bit edgy, no doubt.

"Arkarian has blue hair and violet eyes. He's not blue himself," I correct her. "It's a lot to take in, and it's getting late, so I'll let you sleep and you can call me if you decide to join the guard." She catches my arm as I get up and yanks me back to the ground. I think she pulls harder than she intended, because when my foot slips from underneath me and I crash to the ground she winces.

"Sorry," she began. "But I recall you saying that you'd tell me about what happened when I was six, yes?"

I think hard of how to avoid the question. It's a very long story to tell, and we really haven't got that kind of time. Taking one look at Iris's blazing dark blue eyes, though, makes me certain that she won't settle for a novice excuse.

"I'll tell you if you join us," I assure her and stand up. I can't see Iris's face (it's obscured by her curls) but I'm sure that she's about ready to stubbornly pout. I can understand how unfair this is to her- from what Matt has told me, Iris has been sitting alone at lunch since she was only seven years old, and was always teased because of her old ratty clothes and geeky glasses. When she turned sixteen her style began to improve (she probably took scissors and a needle to her foster parents' old clothing) and she got contacts, but her reputation had already been tainted, and she wasn't to be even looked at by the other students.

College must seem like a freedom she's only ever dreamed about, and I'm pressuring her into giving up her dreams just because of a story that sounds like it came right out of a fairy tale. But I know that this girl is strong, especially if her heart holds the spirit of my sister like Arkarian suspects it might.

Sure enough, Iris glares up at me. She has no tears in her blazing eyes but a startling defiance. "I'll get back to you on Wednesday, then." she snaps, hauling herself to her feet and beginning to troop back down the mountain. I follow her, not really sure why she doesn't insist on flying again but not protesting. I think I like it better on my own two feet.

"So where are you going to college?" I ask casually. I'm really anxious to get home; mom assured me roast beef and blueberry pie this morning after a tearful awakening. Tearful on my end. Well, now my mother knows what she put me through for twelve years of my life.

"America," Iris mutters. "I made it into Hartford. That surprise you? It surprises everybody I tell, for some reason." I know it's a rhetorical question and don't answer. For a moment, a pregnant silence occupies the evening. "I'm really looking forward to it," she adds pointedly.

"Oh yeah?" I ask, trying not to sound as guilty as I'm now feeling.

"Yup, it'll be my first time out of Australia. I hope it's a lot different there than here because you know I really can't stand it here."

I know she's trying to get to me, but it's working. Her false tone is very irritating and has me gritting my teeth. I don't know how a girl so innocent looking can be so frustrating. She's been stubborn and grouchy from the start, and now she was making me feel horribly guilty.

"Oh, you know, you wouldn't imagine how horrible it was for me to come back to school after a year of solitary confinement when I was a child and have all of my friends ostracize me and leave me at the bottom of the social pyramid." Iris started up again, her voice a little more bitter now. "I really thought that my best friends would be happy I came back to them, but it turned out they never befriended girls," she went on, smiling cheerily, a sardonic key to her voice.

"Look, I'm sorry, okay?" I insist, cracking.

"Oh, don't worry, Ethan," Iris reassures me, still falsely happy. "I forgive you for breaking my trust and abandoning me to fend for myself after losing my whole family. Totally okay!"

Now she's sarcastic. I ball my hands into fists and pick up the pace. Iris is being immature now, and my temper is flaring. Fifteen minutes ago Iris was as cheery as the sun, now she's back to how much she hates my guts. I've abandoned my feelings of guilt and feeling sorry for her, now I'm just annoyed.

Iris is quiet for a while, and I wonder if she's finished. She seems to be chewing on words, deciding if she should bring up a subject or not. Finally she speaks.

"So Rochelle died, did she?" she asks in a slightly louder tone than necessary. I halt in my tracks. I tried to keep from wincing when I told Iris about Rochelle's death, but I guess my pained expression gave away that losing her was the worst thing that could have happened at that last battle.

"Don't bring Rochelle up, Iris," I say quietly, not looking up. For a moment I think I sense concern coming from the obnoxious girl beside me, but she seems to catch herself before she becomes nice.

"What a shame Rochelle isn't here for you to make out with some more," she sneers and walks away. I blink, a bit startled. That was a particularly nasty thing to say (even for Iris) but I hadn't mentioned Rochelle and I... (it's hard for me even to think the word 'kissing') when I explained the guard to Iris. The girl has a weird sense of knowing things that weren't said. Maybe she has a bit of truthseer in her.

Thankfully, I'm able to continue home after a few minutes, containing my fresh grief and forcing it down to the bottom of my heart and thinking only of the roast waiting for me at home.

My phone bleeps; I have a text message. It's from Iris- I don't really know how she got my number, and that's a bit creepy, but I click 'accept' anyways and read it. The four words printed on the grimy screen make my head feel remarkably lighter.

'Didn't mean it

sorry'

I inhale a deep breath and hope that she'll keep her temper from now on if she decides to join the guard.

**XXXXXXXXX**

It's one in the morning when I'm woken from my cell phone ringing obnoxiously. Bleary-eyed and reluctant to move, it takes a few rings for me to snap the phone to my ear.

"mmm?" I groan groggily.

"Ethan? Wake up!" Iris snaps, obviously irritated at my lack of excitement.

"Alright! Alright! I'm awake, what is it?"

Iris's voice trembles as she replies. "I- I'm going to join the guard. I'll d-do it."

I sit bolt upright in my bed. "What made you decide so fast?" I hiss, trying not to wake my parents.

A pause makes me nervous. "I had a dream," she whispers. something about the way she said it makes me know somehow that she had no ordinary dream.

* * *


End file.
